With Love, Janus
by meekobuggy
Summary: Agent Afloat Series: Part 2.5; Set sometime during/after the events in the Lost and Found story. John isn't the only person who's curiosity gets the better of him. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**AUTHORS NOTES:** This story is set some time within or after _Lost and Found_, part 2 of our _Agent Afloat Series_ and was written as a stand-alone or extra to the collection. In truth, when we started this story, we were looking to take a break from the other stories we were working on at the time and was supposed to be a short one-shot that evolved into something else entirely. Hope you enjoy this story and if you do, please remember to leave a few words in a review for your authors! Thanks!

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><p>"Look at this place!" Rodney said in awe. "Had I been an archaeologist, I would have gone nuts!"<p>

John shone his flash light around in the tomb. It was dark, mucky and filled with alien text that he didn't recognize. "Can you read this?"

"No," Rodney said, "And I don't carry the ancient library of languages in my bag either, we'll have to video tape it and take photo's, I'm sure this is a great repository of knowledge!"

"Whatever, I'm just glad that there aren't any un-friendlies here," John shrugged and opened Rodney's back pack to hand everyone a camera (why Rodney carried 4 of them with him was a mystery to him).

Ziva rolled her eyes and took her camera. She had a strange feeling of deja vu with the picture taking. Almost as if she was back at NCIS again. In any case, she walked to the next room of the satellite lab to take pictures in there.

As she had the gene like John, the lights went on when she entered. She'd gotten accustomed to it from over the months that she barely notices it anymore. One terminal she did notice was lit brighter than the others. After taking some photos of it, her curiosity got the better of her and reached out to touch the glowing blue crystal at its center.

"Oh crap," Ziva said as she room shook and lights flickered.

"Ziva?" John walked after her and all he could see was darkness, except for the terminal Ziva was touching. "McKay!" he yelled.

"What did I tell you about not touching things before..." Rodney's voice sounded, "We have no power here, what's that light?"

Within seconds, John saw how the machine was changing Ziva, and he really knew better than to try and pull her away, he didn't want to hurt her and he was sure that McKay could reverse whatever was going on but what the hell was that machine doing? "Ziva! Let go!"

"It doesn't seem like the terminal is getting enough power," Rodney said, holding his energy reader. "I'm sure she'll be fine once the machine is... holy crap!"

John blinked when all of a sudden the terminal shut off as they were standing in the pitch black lab. He shone his flashlight around to find Ziva. "Ziva?" he asked, and nearly jumped ten feet in the air when two yellow eyes got reflected in his light. "What the..."

Ziva tried to say that she was okay. It sounded to her as if it were coming through loud and clear. _John! I'm fine! What's the matter? Why are you scared? Oh shit John, don't shoot me!_she tried saying repeatedly as the team had raised their weapons at her.

"Rodney, I think it's time to pull out that mini generator of yours and get some lights in here," John said carefully. "Ronon, don't shoot to kill, we don't know what that is, for all we know it's Ziva."

"I want to shoot something," Ronon said grumpily.

"That growl sounded as if the animal is scared, John." Teyla said, "I do not think it wishes to harm us."

_Damn right!_ Ziva said, standing up. Looking down, she realized she wasn't standing on two feet but rather four paws. _Oh my...JOHN? What happened?_Of course, all her friends heard were the sounds of growls and other animalistic sounds from her.

McKay had the small generator running up in no time, and John was surprised at what he saw. There was no Ziva, his girlfriend had disappeared, it was just him, Ronon, Rodney and Teyla, and a huge black panther in the room. Rationality told him that Ziva couldn't have just disappeared, he hadn't seen any kind of transport beam.

"Can I shoot it now?" Ronon asked raising his blaster up at what he believed to be a threat.

_No! You can't shoot me!_ Ziva cried. _What to do? What to do?_She lowered herself to the ground, laying down in attempts to appear less hostile but all she wanted to do was tear someone's head off.

"NO!" John glared at Ronon. "This is going to sound crazy..." he sighed and got onto his knees, looking at the creature, it was a gorgeous animal, with big yellow eyes, unless you shone your flash light in them, and they'd reflect. The animal had whimpered when Ronon wanted to shoot it, and then had laid down as if showing that it wasn't dangerous. "What if that machine turned Ziva in to that?"

"Don't be ridiculous." Rodney huffed.

He glared at Rodney. "I'll prove it," he said as he moved towards the animal on his hands and knees.

"John!" Teyla let out a gasp. "Are you insane? It could very well bite your head off! Look at the size of its claws!"

"If it's Ziva," John said calmly, not wanting to sound freaked out, because if it was Ziva, she'd freak out if he'd be. "Then I'm safe." He stretched out his hand towards the animal and gently started to caress its head. "Ziva?"

_Oh thank goodness_, she sighed and nuzzled him back. She tried her best to hum as she did with him in private and hoped it worked. To the human ears, the panther sounded as if it were purring.

"Rodney, I suggest you get that ancient language library thingy and start fixing this," he glared at McKay as he moved closer towards Ziva the panther.

"I..." Rodney stammered. "On it," he said and headed back to the gate with Teyla.

Ziva's eyes followed the scientist and she snorted in irritation. Settling in on her side, she was surprised to find that it was quite easy to figure out the motions of her new form - but she'd rather much be human again. She poked her nose into John's lap and looked up at Ronon, who was staring at her like she was dinner.

This was weird, he really tried hard not to think of Ziva as a panther, but he was slightly freaked out by the fact that she had her head in his lap, close to his crotch. Should anyone freak her out for some reason or whatnot, he was afraid that she'd hurt him. He slowly started to caress her sides, he had always hated cats, but he needed Ziva to stay calm or otherwise he was afraid that Ronon would shoot her.

"This is too weird." Ronon grunted and walked out of the lab. "I guess I'll help you out if you scream in agony when it thinks you're a nice snack."

A low growl came from Ziva as Ronon left before letting out a sigh and let her new large heavy head fall back into John's lap. Her large eyes looked up at him, longing for him to understand her thoughts and how much she really was afraid right now. What if Rodney couldn't change her back? Ziva was scared.

He could feel how she sighed deeply and settled her head into his lap. "Don't worry Ziva, everything will be fine," he said softly and scratched her behind the ears. "Rodney is the smartest person in two galaxies, I'm sure he'll figure something out."

_Ohhh that feels good,_Ziva said, purring to John. She was actually surprised at how much those little things people did to their animals, pet, scratch, really was enjoyable. If she ever had a pet, she would certainly pamper it like this. Unfortunately for her, she was the pet now.

He had to duck to avoid one of her paws hitting his head when she rolled over in his lap and he could swear he could see a smile on her face, as far as panthers could smile. He gently started to caress her stomach and Ziva was purring louder. "You know, in my head, I always compared you to a cat in heat," he said, feeling how warm she actually was. "Now you're actually a cat, a big one, but still very beautiful." he smiled. "But bestiality is a no-no, you got that?"

Ziva laughed to herself. She didn't expect anything like that but it wasn't a bad thought if she was going to be stuck like this because like hell she'd let him go right away.

"Was that a snort?" he chuckled and shook his head. "Well, at least you have a story to tell to your friends back on Earth once McKay turns you back," he said.

At the mention of Rodney, she sat up and looked at him. Blinking her eyes she didn't know how to convey her concern about his ability to turn her back. All she wanted to do was be human and curl up in bed with John and sleep.

Her ears picked up the sound of rocks being kicked and twitched as her head turned to face the doorway to the section that she and John were in. Rising to her feet, or rather paws, she moved in front of where her love sat and crouched into an attack stance, not knowing who was coming.

"Ziva, that's just Ronon, relax." John got up and walked towards the opening of the door. "Ronon, did you see McKay yet?"

"No." Ronon sounded grumpy. "Did you start making freaky kittens already?"

"Ew."

Ziva looked at John and snorted her displeasure. She went up to Ronon slowly so that she could get a good whiff of him to remember for future reference so that she wouldn't be on edge as much. Satisfied she got his scent down, she wandered out to look around the best she could. What else could she do? She didn't want to just sit there all day and wait for Rodney to come back only to say she's poop out of luck.

Watching her walk away Ronon grinned at John. "You know, if it wasn't your girlfriend, that cat would be some good eating."

"You eat cats? Are you insane?" John looked at Ronon. "And feeling a little bit sorry for Ziva won't help either," he said and followed Ziva, not wanting to lose sight of her in the rest of the dark building they were in, considering there was only light in the lab where Ziva had her accident.

The great thing about being a big cat now that Ziva liked, was that she didn't need a lot of light. She actually found herself seeing quite well. Turning to see where John was, she was amused at his feeling around where the flashlight didn't illuminate. She let out a small growl for him to hear where she was so that she could lead them out. It was the least she could do in her current state.

"Yeah yeah, I'm coming," he said, stumbling into something solid. "Ow."

She snorted again before going back to rub against his leg so that he could keep a hand on her while she walked. Ronon seemed to be doing just fine, which must have been from his time as a runner. In either case, she was eager to be back out in the sunlight.

Her... coat of fur, was shining beautifully in the sunlight, and she was even bigger than John had realized. "Ziva, I want to remind you of the rule of not wandering off..."

_Yeah, yeah, yeah,_ she said before finding a patch of clear grass that looked out over the trail to the gate. _I just hope that McKay hurries the hell up. I'm getting hungry._Ziva had crossed her paws and laid her head down in another exaggerated sigh, watching the gate in the warm sun.

"Sheppard, don't you need to document this?" Ronon asked with a smirk on his face. "I remember we took pictures of you when you were turning in to a bug."

"You did?"

"You were asleep most of the time." Ronon shrugged, "But I'm sure that Colonel Carter and Dr. Woolsey would love to see pictures of your girlfriend who turned into a big cat due to one of the machines here."

Ziva responded with a loud hungry roar at her sparring partner before turning back to her watch. _Idiot_, she thought.

"Easy Chewie, she didn't have breakfast this morning," John said.

_Don't remind me...That rabbit thing over there is actually looking tasty right now_, Ziva said, of course to herself as she eyed the thing hopping.

"I have some energy bars and beef jerky though," John said as he started to open his vest pockets. "Want some, Ziva?"

She looked at him and it looked as if she actually rolled her eyes. Like that would do anything to curb her hunger _now_. An hour or so ago, yeah. Ziva stood and wandered into the tree line and growled when John started to follow.

"I'm sorry but you're not leaving my sight," he apologized, "And Ronon will stun you should you make a run for it."

Ronon pulled his buddy back and leaned against the tree to close his eyes. "Relax, she's probably going to hunt. Not good to be around something like that - girlfriend or not."

He looked at Ronon and shook his head. "That's gross."

"It's what you do when you're a big cat and hungry. She's doing what feels natural now. Be happy she kept her head to know who we are. You could have been that lunch she is looking for now," he grinned and slapped him on the back.

He got worried when Ziva hadn't returned half an hour later. "What if she fell off a cliff?" he asked Ronon and saw that in the distance, the gate engaged. "And let's hope that's Rodney."

As John and Ronon went to the gate, Ziva had indeed made her kill and ate - reluctantly. There was a deer like animal that took her awhile to catch and it was messy since she never done a thing like that before. Finding a stream on her way back to the lab site, she jumped in to clean off the blood the best she could and felt better at knowing she was clean again. Trotting back up the trail, she noticed her guys walking down the trail back to the gate. Turning, she quickly caught up to them, headbutting John in his backside.

"Get out of my ass, Ziva," John laughed.

"You did not just say that." Rodney said shocked.

"Shut up Rodney," he replied glaring at him. "What did you find out?" he asked as Ziva came around to sniff up McKay and Teyla.

"Well, there's a tiny mention in Janus' diary about this place," Rodney started, "However, everything what's in that place is far from being ancienty."

"Ancienty?"

"Whatever," Rodney shrugged. "It's known that Janus liked to experiment so it's quite possible that we can turn this back in a jiffy."

Teyla looked over at John and sighed, shaking her head slightly. She was pleased to see that the large cat was clearly not dangerous to them and if it was Ziva as John believed, she knew very well that she was a danger to others if she could not control her new instincts.

John saw how Ziva yawned; he wasn't familiar with cats but cats always became sluggish after food according to his ex-wife. "Had a big lunch, Ziva?"

Ziva would have shrugged if she could. Instead she plopped down along side the DHD to the stargate.

"Oh no, get your ass in gear, we're heading back to the lab." John bent down to poke her in the sides. "Come on."

She let out a snort through her nose and got up, taking her time following the group back. Ziva didn't try to get her hopes up that Rodney could change her back so quickly. When things like this happened, he generally had to take a couple days. When they reached the building, she plopped back down to take a nap outside the door. Hell if and when they found something, they could always come out and get her.

"Yep," Rodney said, after fiddling around for 30 minutes. "I think that if we put the power back on, I can make sure she'll turn back into her regular catty self."

"Be nice, Rodney," John warned.

He looked up at him confused and babbled something before, "But I was being nice..." Returning to work he managed to get the power back up. "Huh, good," he said to himself and started working on the terminal that Ziva had touched.

"And after she's back to normal, this place needs to be destroyed," John said, fiddling some C4 out of his vest pockets.

"Wait what?" Rodney stammered.

"I don't want any other accidents to happen," John said. "What if next time, it's not reversible?"

He shook his head. "We can't destroy it! What if there are answers in this database? Like the cure to cancer or - or - how to make ZedPMs? Give us time to check it out! It shouldn't be destroyed because your girlfriend's curiosity kill the cat!" Rodney realized what he said and looked apologetic. "Sorry - bad choice of words. But she shouldn't have touched that crystal!"

John knew Rodney was right. "Fine, only if you can assure me that nobody else will be turned into an animal!"

He laughed and quickly frowned. "You know I can't do that! Look, as long as no one else touches _anything_, we'll be fine. Just let me work! It's going to take awhile because I need to compare and translate all the information. This is a _really_obscure dialect and it umm..."

"What?"

"Well," Rodney chuckled nervously. "It might take a day...or three. Seriously Sheppard, there is _no_way I'm going to be able to crack this today."

"Well I'm not going to take her back to Atlantis, because I don't want her to be locked up like some caged ani... criminal because she'd attack certain people that she has issues with," John said. "So you better hurry it up."

Thankful that John had brought up that particular concern, Teyla spoke before Rodney said something that would really get their friend going that would wake Ziva. "Actually John? We informed Colonel Carter of the situation. She agreed that as long as you keep Ziva, and I quote, on a short leash, she is welcome back. She did not want to abandon her because of a mishap like this. I did not understand what she meant though."

"Oh... well that's a good thing then, I suppose." he said wearily and made his way over to Ziva. He sat down next to her in the sand and softly caressed her head. "Wakey wakey."

Ziva pushed her paw out to stop him from trying to wake her. A low and very non threatening growl came out as she just rolled over to face the other way. At least she wasn't snoring...

"See, that's why I'm not really a cat person," John chuckled. "Ziva, wake up." he prodded her in her sides. "You shouldn't have had such a big lunch."

_You should leave sleeping animals where they lay_, she grumbled to herself and sat up sleepily. _What do you want now?_she asked, knowing he didn't understand her and looked at him irritated.

"Can you promise me that you can behave yourself when we're on Atlantis? McKay needs at least three days to sort this stuff out and I don't want us to camp out here," John said, "And if you do, I'm going to make little notes you can point to to communicate with me on a basic level because I have no idea what's going on in your head."

Ziva yawned as a response and continued to stare at him bored.

"You'll have our bed all to yourself because I probably won't fit on it," he shrugged and got up.

_Well that is unnecessary,_ she thought. _I could sleep on the floor perfectly well right now._She sat up on her hind quarters and glanced back into the building, trying to ask who was there now.

"Still just McKay, Ronon and Teyla in there," John replied, "But once we get back to Atlantis, a science team will come over to help out McKay... or maybe get in his way, I don't know."

_Whatever_, Ziva said to herself that came out like snort. She got up and started heading the path back down to the gate. She was more than happy to be heading home, regardless of her present condition.

"Ronon, Teyla, I'll be taking Ziva back to Atlantis," he said into his radio before following Ziva. "Once we're there, I'll send the science team back, can you wait for them at the gate?"

"Sure colonel, good luck." Teyla's voice sounded.

"Ziva," he said, "As far as I could understand from Teyla earlier, you're not going to be locked up for the time being," he started, "But you have to stay with me at all times, unless... well you need to... oh crap, do we have to make you a litter box now?"

The growl she gave was not quite friendly. How could she tell him to just let her out on an empty pier? Did he not think she already thought of that? Plus she hoped that the kitchen was well stocked. Not like there was amble amount of game to hunt there. Unless Rodney came back saying she was stuck that way...

"Or maybe I can let you out on a pier or one of the empty corridors... we'll just have to see I guess..." he ruffled his hair in thought. Once they were at the gate, he dialled Atlantis. "Atlantis, this is Sheppard. I'm coming through with Ziva."

"Received," came through. It was Chuck, Ziva could tell. "Is she - tame?" he asked, confirming for Carter.

"Ziva's Ziva, Chuck," John replied. "Though very bored and annoyed because I woke her up from her nap."

"Aye, come on through Colonel," Carter said.


	2. Chapter 2

Ziva eagerly bounded ahead, wanting off the planet and back in to familiar surroundings. Walking through the gate on the other side, she wasn't surprised to see a few marines with their weapons raised. She immediately sat down and yawned again. She couldn't understand why cats slept so much. She really didn't have _that_ big of a lunch.

"Lower your weapons," John said when he stepped through the gate, "She's fine."

"Dear God," Carter said as she ran off the stairs. "Teyla and Rodney weren't kidding."

Another snort from Ziva as she got up to circle around John's legs as he approached Carter. _No shit_, she thought.

"Ziva," John chuckled. "Would you stop?"

_No._

When Ziva didn't stop running around him and trying to make him fall over, he shrugged. "I'm taking her to my quarters." John said to Carter. "Tell Carson not to bother in trying to check her over, she already hates Doctors and I don't want her to... do something stupid."

_I'm not THAT out of control. I know this is not normal_, Ziva tried to say.

Sam looked at her as she went to sit on the side of the gateroom that led to the medical area, and not the quarters. "Does she understand us? Or you understand her?" she asked.

"She understands us," John answered. "And well, it's still Ziva behind those eyes, I sort of understand her, but I'm thinking about making a few notes with words such as 'hungry' 'toilet' and 'sleep' or something, to make it easier for her to communicate."

"That's a good question though. What are we going to feed her. I doubt a burger and fries will sustain her. We already designated the south east pier for her to use for her - business. The question of the matter would be who is going to clean it later," she grinned.

"Ziva, once she's human again," John shrugged. "She knows not to touch things without Rodney's approval and she did it anyway."

_No I'm not. I didn't even realize what I was doing you idiot,_ Ziva grumbled. _I read reports too you fool. You touched that crystal creature and found out it had a way to draw you in. I am not responsible!_

"Ah, she sounds pissed..." John looked at Ziva and then back at Carter. "I guess I will... or maybe the botanists would love to scoop it all up and use it as compost." he shrugged. "And I'm sure that raw meat would suffice for her. If not, we'll have to radio Ronon and ask if he can shoot a deer or two."

_I don't think that is kosher..._

"So, I'll be taking her to my quarters now, and she won't leave my sight. I'll do my paper work and take care of her," John sighed. "She won't be any trouble."

Little did he know, Ziva was already around the bend of the corridor heading up to the infirmary to see Carson. She didn't walk fast, just ampled along like a regular housecat in its home.

Sam grinned and pointed into the direction Ziva had gone off to. "Oh crap," He sighed and darted after her. "Ziva!"

Ziva kept walking but stayed slow enough that John could catch up easily. When he did, all she did was snort in greeting. He wouldn't shoot her for being willing to see the doctor. As long as he didn't stick anything up her ass...That was John Only zone.

"I should find something that makes noise and put that around your neck, like a cat bell or something." he glared at her, "Don't wander off, remember? Especially when you're a big black scary cat and surrounded by people who stare at you."

_Whatever_. She continued on, walking right into the infirmary and jumped up to lay down on an exam bed to the surprise of all the nurses and staff on duty. Ziva didn't see Carson and hoped he was around because she wasn't about to deal with any other doctor there...Especially Cole.

"Ehm... Doctor Beckett?" One of the nurses called out with a small voice. "There's a big cat laying on one of the exam tables!"

"Don't worry, she's with me." John said lightly as he entered the infirmary.

If Ziva could laugh she would right then. The looks on everyone's faces and John the way he came in. She flexed her paw so that her nails came out and studied them curiously while she waited for Carson to show up.

"Ziva, stop intimidating the nurses, your nails are fine," John rolled his eyes and sat down on the table next to her, waiting for Carson.

She playfully pawed at him, amused at the new interaction. Hell, she had to find something to keep her sane and that was to drive John crazy. Her nail caught in his pants, ripping them down his leg. _Ooops_.

He took the nearest hard thing he could find, a clipboard, and hit her on the head with it. "Bad kitty." He checked up on his leg and sighed. "At least you didn't draw blood."

Carson came in confused. Evidently he was out on a house call for a scientist that was in their quarters with the flu. "What's this I hear about a cat in the infirmary?" he called out before stopping short at the sight before him. "Uhh..."

"Don't worry, her growl is worse than her bite." John chuckled.

"No, I'm fairly certain that her bite is worse. Why did you bring a cat to Atlantis?" he asked looking at John like he lost his mind.

"Well, this is the result of touching something ancient without someone's approval." John nodded. "Doc, this is Ziva."

"Oh dear God," he sighed. "Well, I'm no veterinarian you know. I'll check her out the best I can. Is Rodney looking into what changed her?" Carson bustled around and started feeling along Ziva's fur. When he got closer to her rear end, she was more conscious of his movements and not too pleased.

"Yep, it might take him a couple of days to fix it," John nodded. "He's fairly certain it's one of Janus' experiments." Once Ziva's tail started to sweep up and down the bed he shook his head. "She doesn't like that very much, Carson."

The doctor looked down at her and what he was doing. "Oh. Ehm well, from what I can see, you are very healthy. I take you are rather sensitive about your nether regions so we will let you be," he said, patting her on the head carefully.

Ziva rolled her eyes. _I am not a house cat_, she growled as she jumped off the bed to leave.

"Thanks Carson," he nodded and hopped off the bed to follow Ziva. "I'll call you if we need anything."

She was irritated already being back but still tried to be patient as she made her way back to John's quarters. At least they would be able to spend some time together and not worry about being interrupted. If she were human it would be 100 times better.

Once they were in his quarters, he grabbed some paper and a pen and wrote words on them which he spread out over the floor. Just one word per paper, with the basic needs of a person. 'Hungry', 'scared', 'toilet', 'sleep' were the first words, he'd think of others later.

Ziva settled on the floor near his feet and watched him. Sighing, she laid down, frustrated that she couldn't do much of anything. _This sucks,_ she thought as her eyes followed his movements.

He looked at Ziva and rolled his eyes at her. "I'm not going to play with you and a ball of string, if that's what you're wondering."

She growled and blew out her nose at the idea. She was not a _ball of string_ girl. Regardless she didn't know what to do with herself and it was frankly annoying.

"Alright," he sighed and put his pad down. "Come here," he walked to the bed and patted on the duvet. "Let's just lay down for a while."

Hopping up on the bed, she laid down with one paw thrown over him and her head on his lap. _This is going to be a long couple of days_, she said. _Eat, sleep, eat, sleep. The life of a cat is boring._

John knew full well that she was sulking, but he also knew that she should have been glad that she had turned in to a cat and that it didn't change her personality much, there were worse things that could have happened. He absent-mindedly started to scratch her behind her ears, and wondered what the hell they were going to do should Rodney be unable to change Ziva back.

Sure, he acted like the calm guy, but that was only to keep Ziva calm, the last thing she needed was to freak out, and the last thing he needed was for her to freak out and rip him to shreds. He could already throw away his pants, but had she had dug her nails deeper into his slacks, he would have had a big problem.

Ziva turned her head sighing. She looked up at him with her new 'kitty frown'. They'd been together long enough to know that his thoughts were going a mile a minute and he needed to let some emotion out. She could handle him and would not attack him - ever. Their nightly questions to learn and open themselves to each other had seemed to be fairly successful so far. She lifted her head and looked at him, hoping he would try to figure out what she wanted. It would likely end up in the worst case of charades.

"What?" he smiled at her and softly caressed her underneath her chin.

How could she try to tell him it was okay to get his freaking out while they were alone. She looked around the room and back at him, frustrated. _I hate this_, she said.

She sounded sad, well, of course she sounded sad, she couldn't do much in her current state. "I know, I know..." he nodded. "This sucks, but it could have been worse," he nodded. "You're going to be fine."

Ziva growled lightly, indicating that while she understood him, that his reassurance wasn't what she wanted then. She wanted him to pace back and forth, freaking out. Not trying to put a brave face on for her. Evidently that was one thing they would have to talk about when, if, she turns back. _Freak the hell out John_, she sighed. _I'm going to have your baby. Well kittens now..._ He couldn't understand the lie but she wanted something to react out of him.

"We're just going to have to wait for McKay," he assured her, "Believe me, if he says that it could take days, he eventually realizes that he has found the solution hours before." he softly stroked her back before gently shifting on the bed so that he was laying down. He put an arm around her as he snuggled up. "This is as far as I'll go, you know..." he chuckled. "But you're nice and warm for a change."

Rolling her eyes, she easily slipped out from under his arm and paced in front of his bed, looking back at him. If she needed to play charades, she would try. Still - this was going to suck.

"What? Do you need to go onto the pier?"

_No!_ Ziva growled. _Try again._ Her pacing increased, along with her tail whipping around. Hopefully he was smart enough but now she wasn't so sure.

"Alright, you're upset." he nodded. "I know you are but it's okay,"

Another growl came out as she looked around before pulling at the blanket with her teeth causing him to slide down further. _You, John._

"I'm not going to be your toy while you're still catty." John warned. "I don't want to be ripped to shreds, thanks."

_No you idiot,_ Ziva said. _You are way too freaking calm for me since all of this._ She headbutted him until he fell back on the bed on top of his notepad.

"Alright, let's make this easier for you," he sighed and started to write a letter of the alphabet on each page, then he spread them out over the floor. "There, what do you want?"

_Oh man. At least it'll get somewhere eventually_, she sighed and sat down to look at him bored. _Get on with it_.

"Go on then, step on the letter and I'll try to keep up with you." he pointed towards the papers across the floor.

_This is ridiculous. Can't you make sheets with names on it?_ Ziva asked as she spelled out his name.

"Yeah, that's me." he sat down on the edge of the bed and ran his hand through his hair. "What about me?"

F.R.E.A.K.O.U.T.

"Why? It won't get me anywhere," he shrugged, "I'll freak out when McKay takes longer than his three days," he continued. "I've learned to be patient when it comes to this."

W.A.N.T.T.O.

N.O.T.G.O.O.D.

"Maybe not," he replied. "But I'm fine."

N.O.A.T.T.A.C.K.

I.M.O.K.

"I'm not going to hit you." he said puzzled. "Why would I hit you?"

I.D.I.O...M.E.N.O.A.T.T.A.C.K.

"I'm not angry with you, and you're not an idiot, just impatient." he rolled his eyes. "Now drop it."

Ziva growled and whimpered. Something in between.

U.I.D.I.O.T.

"Yes, probably." he nodded, "And a very hungry one at that." he continued. "Are you?"

G.O.O.D.W.A.N.T.U.F.R.E.A.K.

"Oh, I'm a freak now?" he chuckled and shook his head. "Fine, I'm getting some for myself, you're staying here."

She stared at him baffled. _WTF?_ she thought and sighed. Laying back down over the papers, she covered her head with her paws and whined.

"I love you, you know that, right?" he said as he walked towards the door. "Are you sure I can't get you anything?"

_Ice cream, BBQ chicken, sex..._

"Oh, you've stopped talking to me," he said disappointed and walked out of the door, making sure Ziva couldn't get out of his quarters before he made his way to the mess hall.

_This is ridiculous_, Ziva thought as she paced the small room. Looking back at the stupid papers, her tail twitched as she sort of grinned as she began to shred them up. By the time John came back, she was stretched out on his bed, comfortable and acted like she was right at home.

He entered his quarters with a tray of human food in one hand and in his other hand he had a tray with some cooked meat without any spices on it so that Ziva could eat when she wanted to. He had this thing about eating raw meat and didn't want Ziva to eat raw meat while he was in the room. He blinked when he saw the shredded papers all across his room. "Oh, very nice," he said wryly. "Who's going to clean that up?"

Ziva was purring and licking her paws like the pretty kitty she was with her tail flipping around happily. She looked at him as if to say 'not me'.

Sighing, he sat down at his desk and put her tray of food down on the floor. "Chicken and beef," he pointed at her tray. "Must be better than what you had on the planet, it's cooked and everything."

_I don't think that's Kosher_, she said sniffing the air.


	3. Chapter 3

"What? Not good enough for you?" He said while he started to eat his potatoes.

She hopped down and worked on the meat just to appease him. It didn't take more than a couple decent gobbles and it was gone and she was licking the tray across the floor until it was shoved under his bed unintentionally.

"I'll get that when I'm done, don't worry," he said and took a sip of his coffee. He really hoped that Ziva wouldn't be like other cats, when he was in the mess hall Chuck joked about cats being active during the night. John just hoped that Ziva would be as tired as he was right now.

Sighing as she laid back down on the bed, she wished she could go for a major run. The several hours they been back left her muscles feeling tight from having been stuck in the small room. She didn't have much else to do besides sleep so she just watched John as he ate.

"Now you're just being annoying," he told her. "You're not getting my food."

_I don't want it you idiot_, she said and continued watching him.

He couldn't eat while she was looking at him like that. He put his utensils down and looked at her. "You're bored, I guess, I could take you to one of the non-populated areas so you can do whatever you want?"

_Could you fuck me?_ she asked, purposely joking and wished he understood.

"Ehm... knowing you... no, that doesn't include sex." he shook his head and grabbed his coffee. "Let's go for a walk then."

_Thank you!_ She was very fast when she hopped off the bed and jetted to wait at the door for him. _Great. Now I'm like a dog. Gibbs would be so proud._

He opened the door and followed her out. "We're going to the transporter, Ziva."

_Yeah...no. Not happening. I won't fit_, she pointed out uselessly. When they got there, she looked at him with a stupid face when there was no way for her to get in the transporter comfortably.

"Yeah, you're not going to fit..." he sighed, "Alright, let's walk." he said and started to walk towards the stairs. People were looking at them, and getting out of their way with a scared look on their faces. "Really, do you scare them that much?" he wondered out loud and continued to walk towards his intended goal, which would take about an hour to get there on foot.

_I'm a trained assassin, what do you think?_ Ziva sighed and kept walking. She really wanted to _run_ and often got a little ahead of herself needing to stop for John to catch up, whining because she couldn't let loose.

"Sorry Ziva, there are still too many people around for you to actually run around freely, I don't want Carter to get pissed at me," he apologized.

She hoped that he would let her run when they got to the empty area that Sam approved of otherwise she might go insane before Rodney fixed her back to normal. Sniffing the floor along the way, she picked up a scent that she didn't like. Growling, the hair on her back stood up as one of the scientists that frequently made passes at John came out from a lab they were about to pass. _Skank._

"Ziva!" he hissed and nudged her with his knee to continue walking. "We're nearly there, stop it."

"Colonel Sheppard!" Alice Mirksi greeted. "How are you tod...Oh my god!" she cried when she saw the panther.

"Hi Alice," John greeted her back. "Something wrong?" he asked sheepishly.

_Alice? When were you on the first name basis with her?_

"Umm..." she replied pointing at the very large cat with very sharp claws. "When did Atlantis get that?" she asked with a failing flirty smile as she pretended badly to be okay with the situation.

"What?" He looked around sheepishly. "I don't see anything out of the ordinary," he shrugged. "Are you okay? Have you been inhaling fumes again?"

"You don't see the very big cat?" Alice asked, looking at her unknown enemy who started to bare her teeth but stayed behind John.

"Uhm... no?" John said carefully. "Maybe you should go and see Doctor Beckett, besides you and me, there isn't anything here." He hated Alice, he could never remember her last name, and she always smelled like she had been rolling into paint thinner and compost for some reason, and she wasn't even a botanist.

She nodded and left without even her customary goodbye of trying to shove his face in her cleavage. Practically running, likely to the shrink in the city, Ziva laughed to herself and grinned innocently up at John.

"What?" he grinned, "Even I can have some fun sometime." he gently stroked Ziva's head. "Come on, it's not that much further."

_Great_, she said and trotted ahead a little without going too far for him to yell at her. When they hit a junction, she wasn't sure which direction they were supposed to go and had been permitted for her.

"Go left," John said from the other end of the corridor. "I'll catch up."

Ziva looked back at him. _You're letting me run?_ she hesitated, but hopeful.

"Yeah go already," he laughed. "Just as soon as you see people you turn around and come back to me, okay?"

_Yeah, yeah, yeah_, she said and took off stretching her legs happily. She really needed this. While she had a good run during her hunt back at lunch, she hadn't had been able to do much else and was confined. Ziva now had a new sympathy for zoo and circus animals.

When he had finally caught up with her, or was actually closer than he had been, he found a spot to sit down and drained the remaining coffee from his cup. It was cold, but it was worth it.

She ran a few laps up and down the corridor passing John several times before she felt much better and loose enough to relax without driving him insane. Coming back to him after her last round, she looked a lot better as she went to sit out on the nearby balcony and watch things there to think.

"Are you done?" he called for her, not moving from his spot, and fiddled with his empty cup of coffee instead. He now remembered why he gave shitty baby sit jobs to marines instead of taking it up on himself. But he didn't trust anyone with Ziva, and right now he didn't trust Ziva to be alone with anyone but him either.

Ziva looked back at him before turning back to the scenic view and laying down in the setting sunlight. _I wonder how many days I have to be like this before McKay figures that machine out_, she thought with a sigh.

When he didn't hear from her, he got up and went to look for her, finding her on the balcony. "I'm not even going to ask if you're okay," he said, sitting down next to her.

_Thanks_, she said and rolled until she leaned against him. Had she been human in this moment, it would have been extremely romantic, with a bottle of champagne, blanket and just them...Ziva didn't want to think about it anymore.

He slowly started to caress her stomach and smiled. "You know, since we can't do our nightly question and answer sharing, maybe I could tell you something without you asking me."

She raised her head and looked at him. About 90% of the time, she started with the questions as he rarely brought it up himself first. This was a great step for him and she was proud. She continued to stare at him with a mixture of curiosity and anticipation.

"I'm not sure what to say to be honest, or what to tell you," he continued to stroke her belly, and then a bit higher between her two front paws. "I was the one getting bullied in school," he finally said. "But look at me now, I have the best job in the world."

Ziva nuzzled him and licked his neck affectionately while purring. It was a small piece of himself but he shared it on his own and she could not be prouder.

He smiled and caressed her back. "I wish you could talk."

She would laugh if she could but if she were honest, she was having some fun with this. It would help them in learning each other's demeanor and emotions better than they were already aware of each other. She went and gave him a nice big and wet lick across his face.

"Ziva," he chuckled, "As much as I usually love your sloppy kisses, this is really sloppy and sticky and your tongue feels as if it needs a shave."

_Good, now you know how I feel sometimes_, she said to herself and looked back out across the water to find the sun had fully set. Sighing she stood up to walk back in and waited for John.

"Alright, let's go back to my quarters," he replied and followed her back in.

At this point, Ziva would prefer her own and actually started that way instead. Hopefully John would be open to it. For one, her bed was certainly bigger and they both could lay comfortably if he was alright with that. The other is that she had the balcony if she wanted to get a little air and sunlight.

"Hey where..." he started and then realized she was heading towards her quarters. "Okay, fine." he said and followed her as she walked towards her quarters. Once in, Ziva immediately hopped on to the bed which made him chuckle. "Yes, your bed is bigger than mine, so what?"

She just let out a puff of breath through her nose and laid down to settle into sleep. Her paw hung off the edge of the bed as she closed her eyes and nodded off easily.


	4. Chapter 4

He woke up the following morning when it was still dark, because Ziva was prodding his bladder area with her paw. "What?" he groaned and pulled the pillow over his face.

_I need to take a crap_, she said and poked him again.

Sighing he got up and walked to the bathroom to take a leak, he washed his hands and then walked with her to the South East Pier.

_Finally_, Ziva exclaimed as she ran down to then end away from him. _God this is so embarrassing..._ she thought as she did what she needed to. At least in her room, she was able to pee in the tub so that it went through the drain. She'll just have to scrub it down when she could later. When she was done, she made her way back to John, keeping her head down as she hated the fact that everyone knew if or when she took a dump.

He had come prepared and was glad that she had taken a dump on the edge of the pier, which made it easier for him to scoop it up with half of a dustpan and to toss it overboard into the water. "There," he nodded, still a bit sleepy. "Can we go back to bed now or are you hungry?"

She looked at him feeling bad. While she was hungry, she knew he needed sleep. Walking over to him, she nuzzled her nose into his hand trying to let him know whatever he wanted, she was fine with. Sighing, Ziva knew it was going to be another long day.

"I'll get you some breakfast then," he nodded. "I'm sure that the kitchen staff has prepared something more to your liking today, and then, I'll try to catch a few more hours of sleep." John decided to take Ziva with him to the empty messhall, and wandered into the kitchen where the staff was preparing themselves for breakfast rush hour in a couple of hours. "I've got a hungry girlfriend." he announced and one of the staff handed him a big square container of meat.

He looked down at it and made a face. "Yum."

Ziva sat at the doorway looking in, not wanting to freak anyone else out anymore than she needed to. Her stomach growled as she eyed the container he held. Licking her choppers, which she couldn't help, she waited for John as patiently as she could.

"Thanks," he nodded and walked out of the kitchen with the container in his hands. "I'm not going to open it before we're back in your quarters so stop looking at me as if you could have me for breakfast." he warned her. "If I open this now, I'm sure I won't be able to sleep anymore because of the smell."

She whimpered and started heading back to her room. Ziva knew he didn't like rare meat and quickly thought about how she could accommodate him and her need to eat. As soon as he let her in, she pawed at the balcony door, letting him know she wanted to go out there.

"I love you and your brains." he grinned and opened the balcony doors. He loosened the lid of the container, knowing that Ziva could just shove the lid off of it. "Enjoy your breakfast," he yawned and walked back inside to get a few more hours of shut eye.

Breakfast was finished fairly quickly and it was certainly better on her taste buds than the cooked meat he'd given her the night before. When she was done, she went back inside and looked at John who was already passed out again. Sighing, she was thirsty and not about to drink from the toilet. She went into the bathroom and tried to turn on the faucet to the tub. After several unsuccessful tries, she managed to get some running water going. Lapping it up until she had her fill, she shook her head and left it running before climbing back into the bed and curled up against John.

"Colonel Sheppard to the control room please," Chuck's voice sounded through the intercom in Ziva's quarters, quite loudly too.

"No," he groaned and tried to get up, but Ziva was laying half on top of him. "Ziva..." he prodded her. "Get off me."

She moved so that he could go but was tired herself again and turned over to go back to sleep, with a soft big cat snore.

"So not fair," he shook his head and got into his boots, he hadn't bothered to undress himself, and quite frankly it would have been weird to share a bed with a cat while he was in his underwear despite the fact that that cat was his girlfriend. He couldn't help but smell like wet cat and wondered what was wrong, until he heard the water running in the bathroom. "Of course," he muttered and shut off the faucet and headed towards the control room, not even bothering with getting himself cleaned up. Whatever it was, it'd better be news from Rodney.

"I'm here," he said and looked at the control room techs who were making faces at him. "What?"

"No offence sir, but you smell like..."

"Ziva." John nodded. "Get over it, what am I doing here?"

"McKay sent word that he might have found a way to turn Ziva back into her normal self, sir." Chuck replied. "But he's not entirely sure, so he'll call again when he's absolutely sure that nothing can go wrong."

"What happened to the time where machines could just be put into reverse to... well... you know, reverse things?" John shook his head, "And wake me up for something like that again, an 'uncertain' thing, I will hurt you," he said and then immediately apologized. "Sorry, baby sitting makes me more tired than I thought."

_And crankier_, Chuck thought. "Not a problem Sir. I'll just inform you over the radio with any updates."

"Thank you," he turned around and walked back to Ziva's quarters. He kicked off his shoes and crawled back in bed with his smelly kitty girlfriend.

* * *

><p>By the time he woke up again, the sun was shining and somewhere after lunch, according to Ziva, who was immediately on the balcony at the empty container the second he stirred in bed. "You should have woken me..." he yawned and got out of bed, changing the sheets and then looked at her, "I hope you don't mind, I'm going to take a shower first, then I'll take you for breakfast," he said, grabbing a spare set of his uniform out of her closet. "Because no offence... you smell."<p>

_Well what the hell do you want me to do about it? You can give me a bath you know_, Ziva said with an irritating snort and shoved the container at him with her nose then plopped down on the balcony floor.

"5 more minutes, that's all I'm asking," he said while he was taking off his dirty clothes in full sight of Ziva.

_Oh God_, she thought staring and trying to cover her face with her paw. _I hate you!_

"Mission accomplished," He smirked and hopped under the shower for a quick wash. As soon as he somewhat smelled better with help of soap, he dried himself off and got into his clean set of slacks and his t-shirt. "Right, lunch?" he said while he picked up the container from the balcony.

Ziva threw her head up. Her going to the mess now would be a bad idea, and she stayed put. She stared at him to try to say that but with his sleep ridden mind, she wasn't sure.

"Right... lunch time, busy..." he blinked. "You're staying here, I'll be back soon." he gently pat her head and headed out of the door.

_And hopefully a bath. How the hell can I get him to leave some water in the tub during the day or night when he is sleeping?_ she wondered as she settled back down to look out over the water as she waited.

He returned with another full container of meat for Ziva, and a tray with turkey sandwiches and coffee for himself, because he had sort of skipped dinner last night, he was hungry as a horse. "Lunch time," he smiled and set the container down on the floor and then got the lid off it for her. "If you want me to give you a bath, just walk to the bathroom then, okay? Though I doubt that you'll like water... you're a cat now."

Ziva nudged the lid off again and ate quickly. It wasn't much but better than nothing. For the few days that she would be stuck like that, she could handle it. As a human she went with far less that one summer. When she was done, she headed back in and laid at John's feet while he ate. She would go in for the bath request when he was done. She felt so bad about the imposition that she was putting him in and wondered what they would do if she was stuck like this. It was a discussion - somehow - that they needed to have.

"You know..." he said while he munched on his sandwich. "It's good to chew your food," he took a sip of his coffee and finished eating his lunch. "So, do you want that bath or not?"

She jumped up and hurried into the bathroom to wait for him. Luckily she had scored a really nice set that gave her enough room in her current form. _Hurry up..._ And yes, panthers _do_ enjoy water.

He walked after her and smiled. "I just hope that your coat of fur likes your shampoo, not that you'd get a rash or anything," he had to laugh because Ziva sat in the tub with eagerness in her eyes, and he had to admit that she was one adorable panther, but he really hoped that McKay would have some good news today. He turned on the faucet. "Warm or cold?" He opted for warm to the touch and started to carefully rinse off Ziva, carefully stroking her fur coat as he did, making sure her entire body was wet before applying shampoo.

Ziva sat patiently and was extremely pleased to being washed. She didn't think she smelled but she trusted him when he said she did. Sitting back, she helped as much as possible by lifting her legs when he needed and such and loved when he began to massage the shampoo in.

"I promise, once you're back to normal, I'm going to pamper you all day long," he said softly. "Give you a bath, a massage... some good food..."

_You better. I'll hold you to it_, she thought as she purred for him. She so wanted to ask if she didn't smell as bad anymore but that would be an epic fail. Where was Rodney? He should have had more information with his ego being larger than galaxy itself.

He rinsed off the shampoo, careful not to get it into her eyes (it stung for a human, he didn't want to find out what it'd feel like for a cat) and then looked at her. "Now, you probably want to shake yourself dry a little as a dog... please do that after I've left the bathroom." he grinned. "Then, I'll rub you dry with a towel." and backed out of the bathroom.

_Oh thanks_, she snorted and waited. She would have been more grateful if he at least closed the tub door so the _everything_ didn't get soaked. Sighing Ziva shook herself off and waited for John to come back in for her to shake a second time for spite.

"That's mean!" John laughed, soaked and water dripping off his forehead as he grabbed one of Ziva's bigger towels. He gently started to rub her down, with her tail having involuntarily movements when he'd rub her on her back. Bored of talking to himself, and trying to guess what Ziva was trying to tell him, he started to sing a silly children's song. _This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine..._

If she could, Ziva would be shuddering. Why he was so fascinated by that song, she could never guess. He sometimes sang it in his sleep or when hyped up on pain medication when he lands up in the infirmary. She didn't mind his voice as he actually had a nice jazz style voice but for that song...No.

When Ziva made an objective growl he stopped singing and looked at her. "What?" he shrugged. "I can't help it that it's stuck in my head most of the time."

_I'll unstick it as soon as I'm back to normal_, she growled. _I'm tired_, she yawned and curled up on the floor. No bed until she was dry.

While Ziva snoozed on the floor, he dried the bathroom and sat down at his desk to start on his paperwork without any distraction, waiting for more news from McKay. He had to laugh when after a while, he could hear Ziva snore, quite loudly, and it was adorable, as she, as a human, rarely snored.

Clearly John still has not been under cover with her. Something in Ziva makes her snore worse than drunken sailors on crack. It drove Tony crazy, but then again, he snored as well and it woke her up. In her sleep, she started growling and her foot twitching as she dreamed.

He grabbed one of his remaining sandwiches off his lunch tray and stuffed it in his mouth as he checked his inbox of messages; Lorne needed more of this, Ramsey more of something else, and John wondered when he became the janitor. If they wanted pens, or whatever, they could just go to the supply closet and get it, or go to the actual supplies person that made sure that everything was in stock on Atlantis.

Right before dinner time, and before Ziva woke up from her snooze, Rodney radioed him.

"I'm going to have dinner, and then we're all heading back to the planet," Rodney's voice sounded over the radio. "I figured it out."

"Oh, that's good Rodney, thanks," John said relieved. "Just tell me when you're done," he smiled and turned back to his paper work.

Ziva stretched soundly when she woke up and blinked up at John. Snorting at the sight, she had never seen him do so much of his paperwork before. Getting up, she ambled over and rubbed up against him, nearly knocking him off the chair completely with her big size.

"Yes, I love you too." he smiled and managed to stop himself from falling backwards. He took her head between his hands and kissed the top of her snout. "Rodney called, he's figured out how to turn you back into you."

_FINALLY!_ she purred louder. Running over to the door, she stood up on her hind quarters coming incredibly tall as she looked to get out. She wanted back to that planet. For one, to do one last hunt. That was freaking fun! Then to turn back so that she could screw the ever loving daylights out of her man.

"After Rodney's done with his dinner, Ziva, you'll just have to wait a little bit longer, sorry." he apologized.

She was not having that. Coming back down, she stalked over towards John growling harshly. She wanted her freedom and be back to normal. Damn McKay and his food.

"Sweetheart, you should know by now not to come between McKay and his food..." he said hesitantly, reminding himself that should Ziva become dangerous that he had his stunner... somewhere. "No need to hurt me,"

When it was clear to him that Ziva wouldn't stop complaining and even scratching the door, he took her to his quarters for him to change in his uniform, then headed to the mess hall with Ziva the big black cat to get McKay's butt in gear. Needless to say, everyone's eyes were on Ziva and on himself when he walked into the mess hall towards Rodney's table.

"I said, after food..." Rodney started, and John saw the color drain from his face when Ziva bared her teeth and started to growl.

"I think you'd better obey the lady," John replied. "I'm quite confident that she wouldn't hurt you _now_ but she might hurt you when she's human again if you don't hurry up."

Ziva growled louder and stepped closer towards McKay before crouching down lower.

"Fine!" Rodney exclaimed and got up. "If I pass out, it's on you."

Ronon and Teyla looked amused. "You won't _faint_." Ronon grinned.

_I'll just catch him one of those deer_, Ziva said to herself as she growled lowly following Rodney out of the mess hall.

Once they were on the planet again, Ziva ran off into the bushes and John sighed. "We're about to turn you back to normal and you need food? Come back here!"

He heard a loud roar in return, which made Ronon laugh. "You're not the boss of her."

"Apparently not." John shrugged

It wasn't long before she returned bloodied, and with a half eaten deer creature. She dropped the carcass by Rodney and sat down to lick her paws. It was almost as if she had a smirk on her face if one looked hard enough.

"Dinner's served," John grinned, much to Rodney's dismay.

"Right..." McKay sighed and started to punch a few buttons on the console. "Are you ready, Ziva?"

She laid down and looked up at him just wanting to get it over with already. _What do you think..._

Rodney pushed another button and the machine started to light up and roar. John, Teyla and Ronon had taken a few steps back, just in case. A blue glowly light appeared from the machine and engulfed Ziva in it, slowly changing back to her normal self. He had no idea why Elizabeth Weir... well her old self, had developed feelings for this Janus person. Sure, he was a brilliant ancient, but apart from the time travel Jumper, all the most recent finds of his secret labs were stupid practical jokes compared to that Jumper.

Once the machine turned off, John immediately threw his vest over Ziva to cover most of her body, as for some reason, the machine decided not to return her clothes to her and she was naked, and unconscious. "Ziva?" he started to take off his shirt and wrapped her up in it, before lifting her up from the floor. "Rodney, I'll hurt you if she's hurt in anyway."

"Transformations take a lot of energy!" Rodney spluttered. "I'm sure she's fine!"

"Let's get her back to Carson just to be sure," Teyla said, smiling gently to Rodney as she went to get John to leave the lab before he hurt his friend.

"Seriously! He was out cold for days when he turned back from being a bug!"

"Yeah well, I don't remember being out cold for days now do I?" John snapped, cradling Ziva in his arms and started to head back to the gate.

"You're welcome!" Rodney growled as he followed them.

* * *

><p>The following afternoon, Ziva finally began to wake up slowly. The lights that filtered into the room were a little bright for her and had to squint, but otherwise she felt no change so far, or maybe didn't realise anything yet. Looking around with a small moan, she saw John asleep in his chair with his arms cross and his feet up on the bed next to her.<p>

She let out a deep sigh and lifted her hand that was connected to IV tubing and groaned. At least she was human again, she thought as she looked at her arm.

He woke up from hearing Ziva sigh and groan behind him and smiled. "Hey, you're awake!"

"Yeah," she moaned and tugged on the IV line. "How long have I been out?"

"Almost a full day," he replied and softly kissed her. " It's so good to hear you speak again. Leave that IV alone, I'm going to get Carson."

She groaned and let her head fall back to the pillow. Licking her lips and found them dry, Ziva looked around for something she didn't know what really. "I want out of here. I can sleep in my own bed..." she mumbled as she fidgeted.

"I'm sure you can, but Carson needs to give his permission first, Ziva."

Whining, she looked up John and pouted. "Am I not back to normal or something? Is this really necessary?"

"Yes," John nodded. "Apparently going through a transformation is hard on someone's body, and Carson will need to clear you before you're allowed to leave." he shrugged. "Sorry babe, but for once I'll have to agree with him and let him check you over first."

She made a face and settled down stubbornly.

It didn't take long for Carson to show up, especially after Ziva decided to get Carson's attention by starting to throw things on the floor. "Alright already!" Carson said as he walked in, "Eager to get out, are we?"

"What do you think?" she asked grumpily. "I'd like to get some - breakfast, lunch, dinner, whatever freaking time it is and go to sleep in my own bed!"

"Aye, I can understand that, however, I will have to check you over to make sure you've returned to normal. Sometimes it can take days for any kind of transformation to leave a system."

Ziva rolled her eyes. "Check away please. Just get me out of here...Please!"

John waited outside the infirmary for Ziva. Earlier on, Carson had already informed him that everything looked normal, but he wanted to check again when she'd wake up. Carson knew about Ziva's problems with doctors and infirmaries, and had already told John that she'd be allowed to go to her quarters as soon as she got cleared by him.

Carson was rather quick to clear her when she threatened to kill him twenty different ways from Sunday with just his clip board. After changing into a pair of scrubs, she was on her way out barefooted. She couldn't get away fast enough. "Alright, let's go..." Ziva demanded, pulling John with her as she shuffled passed.

Knowing fully well that she'd kill him if he'd lifted her up, he followed her to her quarters. "See? You worry too much, I knew Rodney was able to reverse whatever Janus' machinery did to you."

"Yeah, I know you did, but right now I just want a giant steak and glass of milk..."

"What?" he asked puzzled.

Ziva stopped and looked at him. "What?" she asked, wondering why he appeared confused. "I'm hungry...I told you that."

"Well, you didn't have any chance to eat Kosher as a kitty, but... steak? Really? You usually nearly gag when I eat one."

She looked at him with a deadpanned expression before a smile slowly slipped through until he realized what she was up to. Giggling, she raised an eyebrow and turned to go back to her quarters.

"Well the penny would have dropped sooner if you'd said you were in the mood for a sausage!" he walked after her, laughing.


End file.
